The present invention is in the field of toothbrush holders and in particular disposable or limited use toothbrush holders designed or dispensed for use for a limited duration, for example, in a hotel or in a hospital bathroom or similar limited duration applications.
A survey of the art reveals a variety of designs of toothbrush holders. Some of those designs feature the ornamental aspects of toothbrush holders. Examples of such omamentally-designed toothbrush holders are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. Des. 65,892, Des. 148,431, Des. 176,162, Des. 215,100, Des. 250,305, Des. 278,777, Des. 306,811 Des. 320,123 and Des. 425,349 which are hereby incorporated, in this application, by reference. Other designs feature the utility and functional aspects of toothbrush holders. Examples of such toothbrush holders are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,356,487, 1,487,085, 1,551,434, 2,642,999, 2,916,155, 2,917,182, 3,002,630, 4,008,808, 4,488,327, 4,607,752, 4,979,708, 5,259,519, and 5,996,816 which are also hereby incorporated, in this application, by reference.
With the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,630 issued to Heisser, none of the above prior art references show or suggest any means for assuring the hygiene of the toothbrush holder. Heisser teaches a suspension-type two-component toothbrush rack in which a plate 7, which is adhesively secured on a wall, is suitably-shaped to receive a disposable removably-mounted holder 13 which has slots or openings 18 for receiving and holding the toothbrush. It also covers the openings or slots 18, through which the toothbrush is suspended, with a removable protective strip 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 in U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,630. Removable protective strip 20 is made of suitable material, preferably tissue paper, which is adhesively secured on holder 13 or, in the case of waxed cardboard holder, is heat-pressed into the wax on one side of the holder, thereby covering openings or slots 18. A drawback of Heisser""s toothbrush rack is that securing protective strip 20 on holder 13 requires an additional assembly step and, therefore, is more costly to produce in comparison to the toothbrush holders of the present invention.
For the purpose of this application, the term xe2x80x9chygienexe2x80x9d, in addition to its accepted meaning of the science of health and the prevention of disease, is also used, herein, to mean no potential contamination which might be caused, generated or left by a previous user. Also, for the purpose of this application, the terms xe2x80x9cassuring or assurance of the hygiene of the toothbrush holderxe2x80x9d refer to and mean positively indicating to the first user of the toothbrush holder that the toothbrush holder has never been used, for its intended purpose, by another previous user.
Examination of the above-referenced prior art also shows that none of the prior art references show or suggest a low cost toothbrush holder which can accept and hold in place virtually all sizes of toothbrushes, including toothbrushes with thick or thin handles, large or small bristle heads and long and short handles.
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned deficiencies and provides low cost solutions for same. In addition to teaching a disposable toothbrush holder having the ability to receive and hold a toothbrush of virtually any practical size, it also teaches a low cost means and a method for positively assuring the hygiene of a toothbrush holder. Also, the method, disclosed herein, is adaptable to virtually all toothbrush holders of the prior art as will be described in the section of Detailed Description of the Invention